HARTFORD, Conn., Feb. 23, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Connecticut Technology Council (CTC) announces that 56 women have been selected as Women of Innovation for the 2015 Women of Innovation awards program. The program recognizes women across Connecticut – those in the workforce and students – who are innovators, role models and community leaders in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.
The 56 honorees will be recognized and a winner in each of eight award categories will be announced during the Women of Innovation awards program at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville on April 1. Ticket purchases and registration for the 2015 event are available online through the CTC website; www.CT.org. The complete list of 2015 Women of Innovation is posted below.
The Women of Innovation were nominated by their peers and selected based on their professional experience, history of innovation, ability to think creatively and solve problems, and demonstration of leadership. Students were judged on inventiveness, accomplishment in science and technology, independent research, and academic achievement.
"Each year the Women of Innovation awards ceremony honors outstanding women who have made contributions in their professions, studies, and in many cases, their communities," said Beth Alquist, planning committee chair for the Women of Innovation awards program. "The 2015 Women of Innovation awards dinner is an inspirational time to celebrate these women and their accomplishments."
This year's list of 56 women includes researchers, educators, engineers, managers, students and entrepreneurs who work in biotech, pharmaceuticals, software, computer hardware, advanced materials, medical devices, and information technology.
High school, undergraduate and graduate students who have demonstrated extraordinary and unique achievements in their technology disciplines are also among the finalists. The winner in the Youth Innovation and Leadership category will receive a $4,000 scholarship from Covidien, one of the event's presenting sponsors.
The Women of Innovation awards presenting sponsors are the pharmaceutical company, Boehringer Ingelheim USA Corporation, medical device manufacturer Covidien, the law firm of Day Pitney LLP and United Technologies Corporation. Supporting Sponsors include AT&T, Frontier Communications, General Electric, and Pfizer Inc.
For questions regarding the program or awards dinner please contact Mike Scricca at 860.289.0878 x334.
Below is a list of the 2015 Women of Innovation with their affiliated towns:
| Keshia Ashe, Co-Founder & CEO, ManyMentors, Newington |
| Serap Aksoy, Professor, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven |
| Medria Blue-Ellis, Principal, Engineering & Science University Magnet School, Hamden |
| Lisa Braden-Harder, CEO, Appen, Ridgefield |
| Sarah Bugaj, Engineering Part Family Manager, Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford |
| Stormy Chamberlain, Assistant Professor of Genetics & Developmental Biology, UCONN, Farmington |
| Janis Collins, Co-Founder, The Refinery, Westport |
| Patricia Cushman, Manager of Environment Health & Safety, United Technologies Research Center, East Hartford |
| Emily Davis, Senior Development Engineer, Covidien, North Haven |
| Wendy Davis, Founder, GestVision, Inc., New Haven |
| Deborah Dorcemus, Student, UCONN, Danbury |
| Wafa Elmannai, Ph. D. Student, University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport |
| Katherine Emery, CEO , The Walker Group/reSET, Farmington |
| Maureen Ezzo, Air Vehicle Project Lead Executive Transport Development Programs, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Northford |
| Lynn Fiellin, Associate Professor of Medicine, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven |
| Marisha Godek, Principal Research Scientist, Covidien, North Haven |
| Heidi Gold, Founder & CEO, Little Scientists, Milford |
| Emma Goodman, Student, Greenwich High School, Greenwich |
| Sapna Gupta, Ph. D. Student, UCONN, Storrs |
| Megan Hislop, Student, Central Connecticut State University, Torrington |
| Jeannette Ickovics, Associate Professor of Medicine, UCONN, New Haven |
| Odia Kane, Student, Engineering & Science University Magnet School, New Haven |
| Janine Kerr, Student, Danbury High School, Danbury |
| Leslie Krumholz, CEO, Goodstreets, Guilford |
| Christina Lampe-Onnerud, Founder & CEO, CLOTEAM LLC, Wilton |
| Lindsey Landry, Senior Engineer, Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford |
| Victoria Liu, Student, Amity Regional High School, Bethany |
| Amy Lydon, Intellectual Property Counsel, Covidien, New Haven |
| Allison MacKay, Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, UCONN, Storrs |
| Radenka Maric, Connecticut Clean Energy Professor in Sustainable Energy, UCONN, Storrs |
| Vicky Margiott, Lead EMU Systems Engineers, UTC Aerospace Systems, South Windsor |
| Anubhuti Mathur, Student, Glastonbury High School, Glastonbury |
| Susan McNulty-LoPiccolo, Senior Manager Portfolio Management, Pfizer, Inc., Groton |
| Sarah Mehner, Director of Operations, Connecticut Information Security, Wilton |
| Sarah Mogielnicki, Student, Greater Hartford Academy of Math and Science, Berlin |
| Rebecca Napolitano, Student, Connecticut College, New London |
| Lizette Nigro, Vice President, Product Operations Fiserv, Glastonbury |
| Cindy Oksanen, Senior Director, Pfizer, Inc., Groton |
| Julie Olson, Business Mentor/Growth Advisor, SECT Tech/CTNext, Pawcatuck |
| Anna Patrizzi, Procurement Director, International Parts Center, Global Supply Chain, Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford |
| Shelley Phelan, Professor of Biology, Fairfield University, Fairfield |
| Diane Pintavalle, Instructor of Advanced Research Mentorship & AP Biology, Glastonbury High School, Glastonbury |
| Maryne Robin, Founder & President, NANTES Solutions, LLC, Stamford |
| Yu-Hui Rogers, Site Director, The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington |
| Nicole Russo, President, Microboard Processing, Inc., Seymour |
| Kimberly Sendlein, Electrical Design Manager of Advanced Programs, UTC Aerospace Systems, Marlborough |
| Jade Smart, Student, Hamden High School, Hamden |
| Ellen Su, Founder, Wellinks, New Haven |
| Karen Tepper, Vice President of Mobile, Priceline.com, Norwalk |
| Allison Thomas, ORION Air Revitalization System Lead-UTAS ISR & Space Systems, UTC Aerospace Systems, Hampden MA |
| Lynn Tinker, CH-53K Chief System Engineer, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Stratford |
| Kyle Vanderlick, Dean, Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science, New Haven |
| Monika Weber, Ph. D. Student, Yale University, New Haven |
| Phyllis Winters, President & Founder, Information Technology Group, North Haven |
| Martha Yaney, Owner, Vista Group International, Inc., Norwalk |
| Quing Zhu, Professor of Electrical Engineering, UCONN, Storrs |
About The Connecticut Technology Council
The Connecticut Technology Council is a statewide association of technology oriented companies and institutions, providing leadership in areas of policy advocacy, community building and assistance for growing companies. Speaking for over 2,000 companies that employ some 200,000 residents, the Connecticut Technology Council seeks to provide a strong and urgent voice in support of the creation of a culture of innovation. This includes working to position Connecticut as a leader in idea creation, workforce preparation, entrepreneurial aptitude, early stage risk capital availability and providing on-going support and mentoring to high potential firms. For more information, visit www.ct.org.